Corina Basques

Corina Basques (a pseudonym) was born in Manila, the seventh of eight children. Her father died when she was nearly four, and her youngest sibling was still in her mother’s womb. She escaped martial law and entered a graduate program in chemistry in Boston. Corina worked as an inventor and research chemist at 3M, later becoming an intellectual property specialist after passing the patent bar. She entered seminary hoping to become a Unitarian Universalist minister, but later studied Buddhism. As a lay-ordained Buddhist priest, she taught meditation and Buddhism to male prisoners in Minnesota. An enthusiastic gardener and cook, she combines her scientific knowledge with her hobbies. She plays the piano and ukulele, draws with colored pencils, and sings and dances, especially tap dance. Her passion for sewing led her to become a quilter later in life and to teach her grandchild to quilt.